New Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Guidebook
Released in November 2012, A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is the Department of Justice’s and Securities and Exchange Commission’s detailed compilation of information about the FCPA, its provisions, and enforcement. It is the product of extensive efforts by experts at DOJ and SEC, and has benefited from valuable input from the Departments of Commerce and State. It endeavors to provide helpful information to enterprises of all shapes and sizes – from small businesses doing their first transactions abroad to multi-national corporations with subsidiaries around the world. The Guide addresses a wide variety of topics, including who and what is covered by the FCPA’s anti-bribery and accounting provisions; the definition of a “foreign official”; what constitute proper and improper gifts, travel and entertainment expenses; the nature of facilitating payments; how successor liability applies in the mergers and acquisitions context; the hallmarks of an effective corporate compliance program; and the different types of civil and criminal resolutions available in the FCPA context. On these and other topics, the Guide takes a multi-faceted approach, setting forth in detail the statutory requirements while also providing insight into DOJ and SEC enforcement practices through hypotheticals, examples of enforcement actions and anonymized declinations, and summaries of applicable case law and DOJ opinion releases.
A free pdf version of the Guide is available here.
A hardcopy, bound version of the Guide can be purchased directly from the U.S. Government Printing Office here.
Age-Related Milestones – Courtesy of Abo & Company CPAs
Our friends at Abo & Company LLC (we believe that they may be the funniest (and smartest) accountants in the world) prepared today’s post on regarding age-related and tax-related milestones to keep in mind for you and your loved ones.
Age 0-23: The so-called Kiddie Tax rules can potentially apply to your child’s (or grandchild’s) investment income until the year he or she reaches age 24. Specifically, a child’s investment income in excess of the applicable annual threshold is taxed at the parent’s marginal federal income tax rates (typically 15% on long-term capital gains and dividends and up to 35% on ordinary income). For 2012, the investment income threshold is $1,900 (same as for 2011). A child’s investment income below the threshold is taxed at very favorable rates (typically 0% on long-term capital gains and dividends and only 10% or 15% on ordinary income). Note that between ages 19 and 23, the Kiddie Tax is only an issue if the child is a student. For the year the child turns age 24 and for all subsequent years, the Kiddie Tax ceases to be a threat.
California Issues App Developer Noncompliance Notice
California Attorney General Kamala Harris has reportedly sent out notices warning as many as 100 mobile app developers that they must conspicuously post privacy policies within the next 30 days to be in compliance with the California Online Privacy Protection Act, Bloomberg reports. The new state protocol requires mobile applications that collect personal data within the state to post a privacy policy stating what data is collected and how it will be used. Harris said, “We have worked hard to ensure that app developers are aware of their legal obligations to respect the privacy of Californians, but it is critical that we take all necessary steps to enforce California’s privacy laws.”
Courts’ Definitions of Harm Widening in Breach Cases
CSO reports on federal courts’ widening definition of damages from data breaches. This “sea change” leaves unprepared companies at risk when it comes to class-action lawsuits, according to lawyers from the firm Pepper Hamilton. Until recently, courts would dismiss data breach lawsuits that couldn’t prove specific harm. But courts “are starting to pick up on the fact that the data that can get out there can cause serious harm, maybe not immediately but sometime in the near future,” lawyer Jeffrey Vagle said. A recent survey found the average settlement award for class-action data breach suits to be $2,500 per plaintiff.
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